The present invention relates generally to the field of hearing aids. More specifically, it relates to switches used in hearing aids.
Hearing aid technology continues to strive toward smaller units and therefore smaller components. As the size of hearing aid units decreases, the area in which to place components also decreases. Further, with the advent of in-the-canal and completely in-the-canal hearing aids, the available surface area for controls used during normal operation of the hearing aid has further decreased. Consequently, space considerations can dominate the designs of such units, especially for in-the-canal and completely in-the-canal units. Often, hearing aids are programmed with several programs, corresponding to conditions encountered during a normal day. For example, listening conditions in an outdoor setting with a large amount of background noise may require a different frequency response for the hearing aid than the situation of a private conversation in a quiet room. For this reason, hearing aids are often programmed with several different modes that the user can select depending upon the conditions.
For in-the-canal and especially completely in-the-canal hearing aids, a very small useable surface area for controls creates the need to maximize efficiency of those controls. A selector switch control to change between hearing aid modes is necessary in order to provide a user friendly unit. Other items required to be on the face of the unit are, generally, a volume control and a battery cover. The battery cover often uses a substantial portion of the surface area due to the size of the battery.
It would be desirable to be able to combine several controls or required items into one area of the hearing aid usable surface. Such a combination would increase the allowable surface area for other features of a unit.